According to a source within the Department of Homeland Security, Scialabba sent the following message to her colleagues at USCIS about her resignation on Tuesday:

Dear Colleagues,

After almost 33 years of public service, I will be retiring from the federal government at the end of March. I consider myself very fortunate to have worked with USCIS for over 10 years, first as the associate director of the Refugee, Asylum and International Operations Directorate, and then serving as your deputy director for nearly six years. While the decision to leave USCIS was difficult, the opportunity presented was right for me. I have accepted a position in the private sector and look forward to the new challenge.

I come from a strong public service background and I’ve been lucky to work in agencies with a meaningful mission. The work USCIS performs is of great importance, and has been an extraordinary part of my life. My entire career has been dedicated to the fascinating and complicated subject of immigration law, policy, and operations and I have enjoyed the challenge and reward of serving in the federal government.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to all of you. During my time at USCIS, I have remained impressed by the quality and dedication of the workforce. You work tirelessly to fulfill our mission in a professional, compassionate manner while ensuring the integrity of the immigration system and the security of our nation. I am very proud of everything you have accomplished and very proud to have been the deputy director of USCIS.

Best wishes,
Lori Scialabba

Acting Director

“I can confirm the text you sent [above] is not a resignation letter – it is from an all-USCIS email dated March 7 from the acting director which informed agency employees of her decision to retire from federal service at the end of March after almost 33 years of public service,” a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security tells Breitbart News.

Scialabba made headlines during her brief tenure with the Trump administration when she openly defied the president.

“One week after President Donald Trump fulfilled a campaign promise by curbing the arrival of refugees from several Muslim-majority countries, a senior bureaucrat at the Department of Homeland Security countermanded his presidential directive,” Breitbart News reported on February 22:

The acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of Homeland Security, Lori Scialabba, sent out a February 2 memo directing her employees to continue processing documents for refugees from the countries named by Donald Trump.

The seven remaining Obama holdover bureaucrats on that list of eight who President Trump “can fire or remove at Homeland Security” include the following:

2. David Grannis, Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis in the Office of Intelligence and Analysis at the Department of Homeland Security.